The Saxon Stories reading order

A plan for the whole series

12 volumes, 4,456 pages, about 80 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 13, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 116 habout 3 weeksby November 19, 2026

   • 1. The Last Kingdom2004 · 474 pages · 9 h
   • 2. The Pale Horseman2005 · 400 pages · 7 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 23, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 220 habout 4 weeksby December 20, 2026

   • 3. The Lords of the North2006 · 350 pages · 6 h
   • 4. Sword Song2007 · 384 pages · 7 h
   • 5. The Burning Land2009 · 352 pages · 6 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 29, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 320 habout 4 weeksby January 24, 2027

   • 6. Death of Kings2011 · 400 pages · 7 h
   • 7. The Pagan Lord2013 · 320 pages · 6 h
   • 8. The Empty Throne2014 · 352 pages · 6 h
6. BreakBorn a Crime · Trevor Noah · 304 pp. · score 8.96 h, by February 3, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 419 habout 4 weeksby February 28, 2027

   • 9. Warriors of the Storm2015 · 368 pages · 7 h
   • 10. The Flame Bearer2016 · 304 pages · 6 h
   • 11. War of the Wolf · 352 pages · 6 h
8. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by March 3, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 57 h10 daysby March 13, 2027

   • 12. Sword of Kings · 400 pages · 7 h
10. The end of the series

    March 13, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.2 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.

Best volume: The Pale Horseman (8.2, 210 ratings). Weakest: Sword of Kings (8.0). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.0) scores close to the series average or above it.